In an interview with the Toledo Blade, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said he would be in favor of a night game in East Lansing this November. The Buckeyes take on the defending Big Ten champion Michigan State Spartans Nov. 8.
The Big Ten has had a long-standing policy against playing night games in November due to the possibility of cold temperatures. But the league is beginning to soften its stance.
Primetime games attract the most eyeballs, gaining sought-after attention for the conference and its programs.
"That would be Michigan State's call. They would call us and ask if we would be willing to do it, and I'd probably say yes," Smith told The Blade. "[Michigan State] would get the first call. If they feel like they can handle that up there, then we'd be supportive of it.
"A lot of times you have to defer to the operations locally. If we were playing them here, we would do it. I think we could handle that magnitude of a game. That's technically the second Saturday in November, but you're only talking by a couple of days."
A Michigan State spokesman did not respond to a message for comment on the school’s plans. The Big Ten releases its primetime schedule in the spring.
The influx of night games combined with a cold-weather Super Bowl have made the Big Ten's policy look stodgy and antiquated, especially with the rival SEC ruling Saturday night.
